I bought what was represented to be a 9500 mile Comet, sight unseen. It arrived a while ago and appears to be the real McCoy. The ash tray has the factory grease on the sides, and it seems never to been used. The lighter hasn't. The body has a small smack on the quarter, and a small amount of surface rust at the bottom. The glove box has a mint owner's manual, warranty information leaflet, warranty card, and the sunvisor sleeve that has starting instructions. All the bolts seem to match in the engine bay, and there does not appear to be any repaint there, or they did a Lexus quality job, and removed the sheetmetal bolts, rubber, clips, etc. for the paint job. The doors close like a new car, with that heavy thump. :bananaman New carpet, and the interior looks like no one has ever sat in it. The damn radio even works, as well as the windshield washer. The engine seems to have appropriate markings, and everything seems to be there, although the AC either did not work,or was lame as hell. It is off to the mechanic to put in a cam, port the heads, and add a 4 pot. then the body shop is gonna straighten out the quarter, remove the Halo, and paint it black or red, to match the cream/beige interior. The finishing touch is the old 9 inch that came outta a Torino parts car, wider wheels and some suspension. Maybe for Carlisle.
Whoah.... ...let me put on my concours cap here. The general consensus among Comet/Maverick enthusiast is that you should do whatever you want to your car. As values continue to gain,and interest increases however, I can't help to think that a Comet with 9500 miles would be a very valuable car on the all original concours market. If that were my interest, I would look seriously at your car. Changes from original would in my opinion lower the value of your car. Just my .02. It's your car, enjoy it whatever you do. If my Comet GT had 9500 miles rather than 180K, it would have been restored to 100% original. Take care- Seth
charles You are 100% correct, in that a concours would be worth more than some thing less original. However, I am going to salute the flag, and it will be difficult to tell the finished product from the original. The paint will be a correct color for the year and model, the intake will be painted blue, with the "Edlebrock" stuff removed, and it appears I can reuse the 2V air cleaner, with a better element. The hub caps will be corrrect, and while the wheels are 6", it will take a guru on his hands and knees to tell the difference. Dual exhausts may be my Waterloo, however. I gotta work on that. In short, I am not gonna embarrass the Mav/Comet crowd with a giantass hoodscoop and a checkerflag paint job. I have a 70 torino, with 25000 miles, that we restored to original (It is a numbers 429 matching car) It keeps my concours bug fed. My highschooler drives a 77 Buick with 11,000 miles. ( it had the original, never on the ground, spare in the trunk.) That keeps the originality flu at bay. I had a concours car, an AACA national, Early Ford V8 Dearborn winner, and it won everything in sight, but it made me sick to drive it and allow it to deteriorate, or leave it in the garage and allow it to deteriorate. I now drive my resto rods. I wonder what a concours 73 Comet, replete with a halo top, and decked out in bronze, would be worth, anyway.
I'm with Seth...under any other circumstances I would say do the Mods...but with only 9500 mies on it, it would be hard for me to do anythng other than freshen it up..like to see some pics when ya got time
charles Pictures coming.... I agree with both ya'all. However freshing up means a paint job, cuz there is no way in hell I can match the paint when we do the quarter.
Its not like you couldn't go back and repaint it to original. If the time came where someone was to show you alot of money and say this could be yours if it were back to original,then repaint it original. Because it has to be repainted anyway I would do it the way I want it for now!
Hey black396...you ask: "I wonder what a concours 73 Comet, replete with a halo top, and decked out in bronze, would be worth, anyway." I think it is worth what you just paid for it. I personally wouldn't worry about changing it. In the "concours" world....that car will really never be worth anything. Now if it was a Grabber...or a Comet GT....or a Stallion....or a Sprint.....that would change my opinion.
charles Before pictures are essential and are coming. Thanks for the input. What makes digests like this valuable is that we can exchange ideas, diverse, and unusual. This bronze color, which I believe is medium copper poly, really does not agree with me. Charles
Are you talking about the bronze Comet that was on Ebay about a month or so ago? I followed that auction every single day and although it looked like a healthy car, I swore up and down that it had to be a typo and was really 95000. Just curious. Good luck and have fun no matter what you do!
charles that be the car. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2454191929&category=5367
I say modify it without having it "look" modified. Bolt-ons can easily be put back to original (if you save the original parts) and no one can see what's inside your engine or rear-end. And I would NOT have one of these cars without disc brakes....drove far too many years with 'em...
I also saw the car on Ebay was thinking about bidding so i could have a Comet to drive when i visited my Grandfather in Linton IN. lol didnt happen though....Nice car
